Ask MBA Admissions Team

F1GMAT: Aston Full-time MBA Program’s Mindful Global Manager module looks interesting. Can you tell us a little bit more about it?

Dr Brigitte Nicoulaud (Aston MBA): Of course, our Mindful Global Manager (MGM) is the personal development component of the Aston MBA.  

It has been created by the renowned business psychologist, Dr Uwe Napiersky (PhD), to help globally-minded leaders develop:

•    self-awareness
•    critical thinking
•    intercultural skills

Throughout the MGM module, our MBA candidates develop the tools and confidence to build their personal brand, make a real impact in the workplace, and measure their professional growth.

Developing self-awareness

We aim to shape our candidates into global managers who act with a deeper understanding of themselves, their organisations, and their communities; and contribute positively to the...

F1GMAT: Rotman Full-time MBA program has put emphasis on Integrative thinking and Business design. How is the curriculum structured to help MBA students?

Marie-Eve (Rotman MBA): Integrative Thinking is Rotman’s educational platform for training trans-disciplinary problem solvers who can synthesize and engage in different perspectives, theories, models and vantage points in real time. This model-based approach to problem solving is how Rotman grads develop an ability to achieve superior solutions.

As we know, business problems are becoming more and more complex, so the analytical approach of the past is no longer enough to compete effectively. To thrive in a world of rapid change, business people have to out-imagine the competition by learning how to think and act with ingenuity.  Rotman has become a world leader in promoting the principles and practices of design thinking- students will have an opportunity to learn about Business Design in both their first and second years.

In terms of the structure of our curriculum, Rotman...

F1GMAT: Mannheim Full-time MBA’s One-Program 5-tracks look interesting. Tell us a little bit more about this.

Stefanie Will (Mannheim MBA): At Mannheim Business School (MBS), we offer participants five different routes to reach the MBA degree. This way, they have the unique opportunity to tailor their MBA to their interests and to qualify for the regions and markets in which they wish to work in the future. Participants can either complete the entire program in Mannheim or include stays at renowned partner business schools in their schedule.

During the

• German Track

Participants will study all four terms in Mannheim, which enables them to gain deep insight into the German economy and the local corporate world,

• Eurasian Track

Participants will spend three terms in Mannheim and one at one of our Asian Partner Business Schools,

• Transatlantic Track

Participants will study at one of our North American Partner Business Schools for one term and spend the rest of the time in Mannheim,

• European Track

...

F1GMAT: Virginia Tech MBA focuses on building a strong foundation with First Year Core Courses. How is the curriculum structured to help MBA students?
 
Robin Camputaro (Virginia Tech MBA): The MBA degree allows a student to gain a broad perspective of various business disciplines.  Most MBA students come into the program with either no business background, or a previous business degree with narrow focus.  The 10 required core classes introduce a wide range of business functions, and provide the quantitative and analytical foundation for the more rigorous, advanced classes in the second year. A final spring class—Strategic Management—...

F1GMAT: The W. P. Carey MBA program has put emphasis on leadership development and in-depth learning. How is the curriculum structured to help MBA students?

Ruthie Pyles (W.P Carey MBA): The W. P. Carey School of Business full-time MBA program, currently ranked Top 30 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, features a leadership-development component that starts in the first quarter of study and continues through both years. We immerse students in a 360-degree peer review process and provide individual assessments, which include faculty feedback.

Students begin their leadership development with courses in strategic leadership, career leadership and organizational behavior. These classes utilize self-tests and peer feedback to help students develop personal insight into their own strengths and weaknesses. Students also work on personal-development plans, focusing on their own leadership skills. Plus, we teach students cutting-edge theoretical frameworks and best practices for leading organizations and employees. Throughout the first year, students learn how to...

F1GMAT: William & Mary’s MBA program has put emphasis on leadership development and experiential learning. How is the curriculum structured to help MBA students?

Amanda Barth(Mason School of Business):  The structure of our program mirrors the business world by combining theory with practice. The 1st year core curriculum is fast-paced and rigorous, but supportive with diverse learning teams which allow our students to exchange ideas and achieve their full potential. William & Mary’s Leadership Development Experience fosters mentorships from day one, pairing every MBA with their very own personal coach through our truly unique and expansive Executive Partner Network, a cohort of over 100 senior business executives from more than 20 different industries. Active, semi-retired or retired, these leaders are like no others. They are an integral part of our community and Mason Family.

...

F1GMAT: Foster Full-time MBA focuses on building a strong business fundamental before allowing students to pick their elective courses. How is the curriculum structured to help MBA students?

Erin Ernst (Foster MBA Admissions Director): The first-year integrated core curriculum provides students with a strong foundation in business fundamentals and, most importantly, shows students how these fundamental business concepts interrelate.  The core is designed to give students the tools they need to solve complex problems by drawing upon multiple areas of expertise. The second year of the program is primarily comprised of elective coursework, and is highly customizable. By choosing their electives, students are able to develop greater expertise in the areas directly related to their post-MBA career while continuing to increase their ability to take on cross-functional assignments. In addition to the core and elective curriculum, students are required to complete three practical experience activities (such as a project for a company, an internship, participating in the business plan competition, etc.)...

F1GMAT: UC Irvine Merage MBA has put emphasis on Strategic Innovation, Information Technology and Analytic Decision making in its curriculum. Tell us how the curriculum will help MBA grads.

Sarah Ramsey(Merage MBA): Our Dean, Andy Policano, along with his advisory board of executives, have identified these three key drivers: Strategic Innovation, Information Technology and Analytic Decision-Making as crucial elements needed to separate our MBA graduates from the competition.

We believe this curriculum separates our graduates to by teaching them to become the types of leaders that businesses now demand. Through our curriculum they learn to make good decisions with imperfect information, anticipate and capitalize on emerging trends, analyze business problems and situations, look at those...

F1GMAT: SKOLKOVO MBA has put emphasis on Experiential Learning and Entrepreneurship. Can you please elaborate how this will help SKOLKOVO MBA Students?

Anna on SKOLKOVO MBA Experiential Learning

I would like to explain what experiential learning in SKOLKOVO means. Instead of the traditional schools’ approach, where the emphasis is on theory over practice, at SKOLKOVO the majority of students’ time will be spent on learning by doing real work projects, which are run in four countries. We want our students to be educated by their own experiences. Our education philosophy combines first-hand experience with relevant academic studies.


SKOLKOVO MBA students work on 5 real projects during the 12-month course for companies in China, Russia, the US and India....

F1GMAT: What are some of the advantages of having Tuck School of Business in Hanover?

Christie St-John : Most people who visit tell me that they are always amazed by how friendly people are at Tuck and they see that the students, professors and staff actually do know each other and have conversations in the hallway and the cafeteria. This is often in contrast to what they see at other schools., Although everyone’s website talks about ‘community’ and ‘collaboration’, at Tuck it is true. Also, by being located outside a big city, our students learn to make their own fun and this in turn, helps them create very strong bonds of friendship – and they learn new things too, such as tripod hockey, how to make maple syrup, and deep international cultural understanding. Another one of the pluses of being in Hanover is that corporate recruiters  love to come here. We treat them well, and this is the sort of place that is relaxed and convivial. The recruiters...

F1GMAT: Tell us a little bit about Gonzaga MBA Programs. How did the Full-time MBA program come to existence?

Colleen:Gonzaga’s MBA program was founded in 1961. All of our graduate business programs are AACSB accredited, a distinction bestowed on less than 25% of schools nationwide. Current students and alumni describe our program as characterized by a personal learning environment. As a Jesuit institution, we put a strong emphasis business ethics, long-term decision making, and developing managers with both the technical skills and the management capabilities to be successful.

We offer three concentrations in finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship, as well...

F1GMAT:  What is the entry criterion in terms of the number of years of experience/GMAT/GPA for RSM Full-time MBA programmes?

Maryke: We require a minimum of 3 years of work experience. We are interested in a candidate’s career development to date, the accomplishments he/she have had and the impact they have made on organisations. Candidates must have a university degree. We closely examine transcripts of previous study, and in addition all applicants are also required to take the GMAT. We do not have a minimum GMAT score requirement - our average is 640 which should give an indication of the score range that would put a candidate in a competitive position.

F1GMAT: What is the biggest misconception about RSM MBA programmes

Maryke: Some candidates have...

F1GMAT: Carlson MBA has put emphasis on Experiential Learning. What are some of the unique courses and learning methodologies adopted in Carlson Full-time MBA program?

Linh Gilles(Carlson MBA): The Carlson School offers four Enterprise programs as part of the Full-Time MBA curriculum—Brands, Consulting, Ventures, and Funds—that provide an in-depth, transformational experience no other business schools offer.  In many ways, the Carlson School is the leader in experiential learning for business schools.  We were arguably the first MBA program to offer a true experiential learning opportunity with our first consulting project for a real client in the late 60s.

The way the Enterprise program experience is designed currently is, each semester, for 2.5 semesters, Full-Time MBA students are a part of student-managed teams in the Brand, Consulting or Ventures enterprises. Students work on high-profile, fee-based consulting projects with professionals at client organizations who expect real results.

Students in the Funds...

F1GMAT: Ivey MBA has put emphasis on Case Method Learning. What are some of the unique courses and learning methodologies adopted in Ivey MBA program? 

Jenni & Julia (Ivey MBA): We are one of only a handful of truly case-based MBA programs in the world.  We believe you can’t be lectured into becoming a great decision-maker, therefore the focus in all of our courses is on practical learning.  This means that we mix cases with real-world projects and simulation activities.  A few of our most popular courses are Value Investing (with George Athanassakos), Negotiating for Leaders, High Impact Presenting and our International Study Trips (to China, India and South America).

...

1. What is the biggest misconception about ESADE MBA programs?

Probably, that you have to speak Spanish to start an MBA at our school; you don’t need to have studied Spanish at all before arriving to ESADE. You take your classes in English but will learn Spanish throughout, so you’ll be fully able to speak it by the time you graduate.  Before class starts, we offer a summer crash course in Spanish for absolute beginners, just before Welcome Week.

2. Spain's Economy is 12th largest in the world. But from 2007 onwards, Spanish economy began to slow down. Has the state of the economy affected the job prospects for ESADE MBA Students?

We have been very lucky in that the economy has not affected the number of students looking to study MBAs. In such economic turmoil, the more academically prepared you are, the better, so an MBA is the string to your bow that you need to help you get ahead.  Our longstanding relationship with some of the biggest companies across a wide variety of sectors has meant that we are...

F1GMAT: Hult’s Accelerated One Year MBA program has put emphasis on Action Learning. How is the program designed to help MBA candidates?

Germán(HultMBA): Employers want MBA students who are job-ready. Hult has designed its curriculum to give students hands-on experience and not only abstract theory. Our innovative curriculum is based on three components, which together form the acronym LEAP:

Learn
Experience
ActionProjects

The ‘Action Project’ component at Hult allows students to tackle a real-world growth challenges faced by Fortune 500 companies. Students develop business strategies for C-suite executives searching for the next innovation or pathway to growth. This is exactly the kind of practical application and international exposure that anchors theoretical learning and prepares Hult students for their post-MBA careers.

F1GMAT:...

F1GMAT: SFU Beedie Full-time MBA program has put emphasis on building a foundation in business management. How is the program designed to help MBA candidates get real world Business Experience?  

John Pigeon(SFU Beedie): The Full-time MBA program is focused on both strategic management and working within groups, as a leader and a contributor.  We focus the program on the many disciplines that are important to business leaders; however we are always encouraging the students to consider the broader strategic implications of their decisions.  The program is also focused on the importance of strategic, long-term decision making coupled with making current, day-to-day operational decisions brought on by dynamic environments and unforeseen circumstances.

There are a number of ways that we engage our students with the business community. ...